The Torlonia Collection will be exhibited for the first time in North America on an international tour

The Torlonia Foundation, established at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia with the intention of preserving and promoting the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia in Rome, announces a busy 2025 among exhibitions, restorations and initiatives for the study and dissemination of its heritage. And it is preparing to take its masterpieces to the world, as well as to open its restoration workshops to professionals.

An international tour to the United States and Canada

Next year, the exhibition Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection will mark the Torlonia Collection’s debut in North America. Curated by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katherine A. Raff, will be hosted by some of the most prestigious museum institutions: Art Institute of Chicago (March 15-June 29, 2025); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (September 13-January 25, 2025); Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (March-July 2026).

The exhibition will bring some of the Collection’s greatest masterpieces to North America: from celebrated portrait busts to monumental and mythological figures, from extraordinary cups to sarcophagi and sculpted reliefs. Nearly sixty sculptures from the fifth century B.C. to the second century A.D. studied and restored by the Foundation especially for the exhibition, most dating from the Imperial Age period, the height of ancient Roman artistic innovation. Of particular note will be the restoration of twenty-seven works for the occasion by Torlonia Laboratories, adding to the twelve restored for the exhibition still in progress at the Louvre (extended through January 6, 2025), for a total of more than 150 sculptures restored in recent years.

A new exhibition for the Antiquarium of Villa Albani Torlonia

Parallel to the international tour, the Foundation will present a new exhibition in the spaces of theAntiquarium of Villa Albani Torlonia in Rome. Curated by Carlo Gasparri, the exhibition will be dedicated to a selection of ancient and modern sculptures in colored marbles: valuable marbles, some very rare, mostly used for the decoration of large public buildings and private residences. The Antiquarium, opened last spring, will be accessible free of charge Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Restoration, cataloguing and study

The Torlonia Foundation continues work in its restoration workshops, which are open to scholars upon request. In fact, in parallel with the exhibition activity, thanks to the support of Bvlgari, the work of restoration, study and cataloguing of the Collection in the Torlonia Laboratories proceeds under the High Supervision of the Special Superintendence of Rome. In addition, 2025 will see the completion of the cataloguing and digitization of all the works in the Collection, a crucial tool for the reading and in-depth study of individual artifacts that will be made available to all through the website.

As part of the scholarly activity, among the anticipated publications, Carlo Marchionni’s Notebooks represent a significant novelty. These diaries of the architect of Villa Albani Torlonia, enriched by the author’s sketches and the historical apparatus of Professor Elisa Debenedetti, who recently passed away, will allow the reader to immerse himself in the creative process of the villa’s realization, with a look also at the Latium villas of Castelgandolfo and Anzio designed by Marchionni.

The Foundation announces the appointment of Professor Carlo Gasparri as scientific coordinator, supported by a committee chaired by Salvatore Settis and composed of experts such as Gabriele Galateri di Genola, Filippo Modulo, Carlo Ratti and Xavier Francesco Salomon.

“The Foundation is thrilled to share the Torlonia Collection with the North American public for the first time. This exceptional collection of ancient sculpture is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

“The cosmopolitan spirit that has always characterized classical art must continue to be cultivated among younger people as well. It is a universal language that thrives on the continuous reinvention of the classics, putting them in dialogue with modern culture, a vision brilliantly highlighted by the curatorial approach of Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katherine A. Raff,” added Carlotta Loverini Botta, Director of the Torlonia Foundation.

“The Bvlgari Foundation perpetuates and amplifies a mission that has always been part of the brand’s DNA. A commitment to building a magnificent future with enduring value in the fields of art and advocacy, education, philanthropy and inclusion, and the transmission of savoir-faire,” says Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO Bvlgari Group. “The collaboration with the Torlonia Foundation is the perfect testament to this mission, aimed at the pursuit of beauty and the preservation of what should be handed down from generation to generation. The journey begins in Rome and continues in the United States and Canada. Once again, we proudly stand alongside the Torlonia Foundation on this unique journey of artistic rediscovery, bringing to light the incomparable beauty of one of the world’s most important private collections of ancient Roman sculpture, which includes some of the most famous statues of Roman emperors.”

The Torlonia Collection will be exhibited for the first time in North America on an international tour

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.